How High Will My Georgia Winter Heat Bills Be?
Even though you may have the best energy supplier in Georgia, you might see a higher heating bill this month. So far this January, we’ve seen a stretched polar vortex swoop across the country 5 times. And it’s been blasting frosty temps from Vaughn, MT to Valdosta, GA. Obviously, winter isn’t over yet. So, a lot of folks in Georgia are worrying about high heating bills. In order to help consumers understand winter heat costs, we’ve gathered up heating systems costs for each state, including Georgia. And, we’ve also broken it down by the four primary heating fuels.
How Much Does Heat Cost in Georgia?
Surprisingly, spacing heating accounts for 42% of energy consumption in U.S. homes. So, heating your home can eat a pretty big chunk of your yearly budget.
Of course, homeowners can choose from a slew heating systems. But in general, most homes rely on only one. And the most common heating systems are natural gas, electric, propane, wood, and heating oil. But, while homes use all of these, they're not all used by the same number of homes. Therefore, figuring out an accurate average heating cost for each state can get a little bit tricky.
First off, natural gas and electricity make up almost two-thirds of the US heating fuel mix. Likewise, both heating oil and propane are widely used in certain areas. Wood heat and solar are also used in many parts of the country. But, their costs are hard to track. For these reasons, we're leaving them out.
In order to find realistic costs, we multiplied heating fuel prices in each state by their usage percentage. We then used this to create a weighted average cost. As a result, consumers can easily see costs for heating systems they're more likely to use. It also scales back the impact of fuels that are used in only a few homes.
Which 10 States Have the Highest Winter Heat Costs?
| State | Primary Fuel | Weighted Cost |
| Alaska | Natural Gas | $235.50 |
| Rhode Island | Natural Gas | $217.48 |
| Oklahoma | Natural Gas | $193.33 |
| New Hampshire | Fuel Oil | $191.20 |
| Connecticut | Fuel Oil | $177.80 |
| Vermont | Fuel Oil | $177.70 |
| Maine | Fuel Oil | $165.94 |
| Ohio | Natural Gas | $160.61 |
| Missouri | Natural Gas | $158.25 |
| West Virginia | Electric | $150.07 |
These 10 States Have the Cheapest Winter Heat Costs
| State | Primary Fuel | Weighted Cost |
| Hawaii | Electric | $8.46 |
| Florida | Electric | $26.00 |
| Arizona | Electric | $30.39 |
| Nevada | Natural Gas | $45.99 |
| California | Natural Gas | $51.36 |
| New Mexico | Natural Gas | $54.97 |
| Idaho | Natural Gas | $58.73 |
| Louisiana | Electric | $60.82 |
| Utah | Natural Gas | $67.54 |
| District of Columbia | Natural Gas | $69.61 |
Space Heating in Warmer States
Unlike many U.S. homes, nearly 5% do not use space heating. EIA data for Florida shows that 8% of homes do not have any heating. Meanwhile, another 20% do have heating but don'tuse it. Similarly, 85% of Hawaiian homes also don't have heating installed. Still, the EIA 2020 Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) shows that 5% of Hawaiian homes use electric heat. For that small reason, electricity is the primary heating fuel. Moreover, we know at least some heat (about 1.4 mmBTUs) is used during the winter. In other words, that equals 14 ccf of natural gas. So, our data must assume that Hawaii has a least one winter heating month for its weighted monthly cost.
How Does Georgia Ranks for Heat Cost?
Georgia averages 6 months of winter and homes use 61.67 ccf (or 61.67 therms) per winter month for heat. The state ranked 24th for price with a weighted winter cost of $116.55 per month. While the state's primary heating fuel is arguably natural gas, the balance of home heating systems are fairly equal. Electricity heats 46% of homes while 47% of homes use natural gas. That said, residential delivered Georgia gas prices in October, 2024 were the fourth highest in the nation. As a result, homes that use natural gas heat can expect to pay up to $70 over the weighted average heating cost.
Comparing Georgia Heating Fuel Costs
While our data covers average costs for the four main heating systems, how they relate to each other shows more. Indeed, the actual energy cost and efficiency of each fuel can show a lot about a home's heat. To that end, we compared the four heating fuel systems by their their cost ($/mmBtu) and their energy usage (mmBtu).
In the usage data from the EIA 2020 RECS, we noticed that gas heated homes paid less per mmBtu than other fuels. In contrast, electricity cost around 7 times more per mmBtu than natural gas. However, when we compared gas to electric, we found that gas tended to use 4 to 10 times more energy.
- Heating oil systems consumed 58.5 mmBtu.
- Natural gas used 56.6 mmBtu.
- Propane 35.7 mmBtu.
- Electric systems used the least energy, 8.5 mmBtu.
Comparing Heating Fuel Efficiency
One drawback to burning fuel is the need to keep fire and toxic exhaust fumes out of the home's living space. In short, some heat goes up in smoke. As a result, gas heated homes tend to pay higher heating costs despite the fuel having the cheapest price. In contrast, homes using electric heating used far less energy and paid lower heating costs. This also held true in our cost data. In brief, the average electric heating cost was the cheapest for every state.
Still, it's important to say that we're not favoring electric heat systems over natural gas. Rather we want to underscore how important it is for consumers to keep their heating systems running efficiently. In that way, they can save more money on their winter heat costs.
Georgia Heating System Efficiency Tips
- At least every 6 months, pour bleach or vinegar into condensate tubes on condensing gas furnaces. Doing so can prevent clogs and unexpected shut downs.
- During fall, check that furnace air intakes and exhausts outside are clear of leaves and other debris.
- In addition to changing air filters regularly, only use air filters that the manufacturer recommends.
- Occasionally, inspect the blower for dust building up. Doing so can indicate air leaks around the filter.
- Also seal and insulate ductwork. Coupled with a clean air filter, this can really improve your system's air circulation.
- Keep baseboard heating systems clean so air can circulate freely through them.
- Similarly, keep the area around outdoor heat pump condenser unit free of leaf litter, snow, and other obstructions.
- Generally for radiant heat systems, regularly check the boilers. In particular, check water levels and periodically bleed radiators to release trapped air.
- Once in a while, check the boiler's burner. You want to be sure it's getting enough air and nothing blocks the exhaust flue.
- In the same fashion, keep the area around the boiler free of boxes and other stored items.
- Above all, air seal and add more insulation to your home.
Methods
Firstly, we based the number of heating months on the EIA Degree Day per Census Zone. A good analog to keep in mind here are the first and last frost dates in a state or region. The average number of heating months in the US is 6.3. For many utilities in the northeast and mid west, heating season runs October - May. That's because these regions still experience stretches of cold weather from early Ocotber right up to Memorial Day. EIA states Alaska heating season runs 6 months, from October - March.
In order to find the weighted average cost, we multiplied each heating fuel price of by the percent of its use in a state. We then added up the products to find the weighted average cost. This produced an average cost that reflects what most consumers in a state pay for heating.
Sources
Heating Consumption data is from the EIA 2020 Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS).
https://www.eia.gov/consumption/residential/data/2020/index.php
Residential Space Heating Fuels By State (2020 RECS)
https://www.eia.gov/consumption/residential/data/2020/state/pdf/State%20Space%20Heating%20Fuels.pdf
EIA electricity and natural gas pricing data reflects bundled costs from October 2024.
Bundled costs = the price of the energy + the utilies' charge for delivering it to residential homes.
Natural Gas: https://www.eia.gov/naturalgas/monthly/
Electricity: https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/
EIA pricing for residential heating oil and propane are last prices available for October, 2024.
https://www.eia.gov/petroleum/data.php